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Buckshot Shares Some “Common Knowledgy”

A little logical thinking has gone a long way with Buckshot. The founder and CEO of the 15-year-old, iconic New York-based label Duck Down claims that common knowledge is the main reason behind his success, and he plans to spread those ideals to the masses through a trilogy of books.

The loquacious performer/businessman recently talked about the motivations behind his latest work, his first in a while. He also dropped some knowledge for the kids out there who are trying to succeed in the business.

What made you decide to write this book?
Everywhere I went, so many people were asking me the same questions about how to get in the business and how to be a part of the business and stuff like that, so I decided to write all of the answers and put it together in one package so I could give it to everyone at one time.

I’ve got another book coming out called The Common Knowledgy of Motivation. The timing of the book couldn’t be more perfect. The industry is at a point where everybody is mini-nowhere stars. I want to teach my people the stuff that no one will talk about. I don’t try to teach them like I’m some big guru. This book is simply meant to share with people that want to share with me.

Is the second book going to be more music- and entertainment industry-based, or is it going to be a general motivation book?
It’s going to be more or less a general motivation book. It’s going to have comparisons and similarities that pertain to entertainment. I wrote the book as an inspiration to pure motivation because there are a lot of people that need motivation, and sometimes motivation comes in things that you can relate to. I just recently got into film and directing. I was influenced by these little dudes that take their five-dollar camera and go out and shoot whatever they want to shoot. I wish I could tell all those kids out there to keep doing what they’re doing. Keep going to YouTube, keep making your movies, keep doing your in-the-hood things, keep making your skateboard movies. Keep doing what you’re doing because there are people out there that are fans of yours and you guys probably don’t know because there is no way to reflect that. Buckshot is definitely a fan of people doing things on the come-up.

What caused you to make the switch from the performance side of the industry to the business side of the industry?
Well that’s a funny question because I started out being 50/50, ever since I was a little baby. My family has been into business. My uncles owned stores and buildings, my father had his own company. So I grew up with that mind frame of having your own. But at the same time I was always a performer. When I got a record deal with Nervous Records, I was an intern at this label called NCA Soul Records. Everything has always worked hand in hand with Buckshot. I never woke up one day and decided to become a business person. That’s another reason why I’m glad I got the book out because I can start a dialogue on telling people that some of the things that you may see and think aren’t actually the case. Once you know the truth, it may help you out a lot because if you see something that you think or misconceive as the truth, things become very uncomfortable.

At the beginning of the book, you talk about how this is the first of three parts. You told me what the second one is, what’s the third?
The third is The Common Knowledgy of Wordplay. Ooh that’s the one that’s going to kill ’em! It’s the whole break that shows a common sense way to notice that everything around you deals with the trickery of word play, which is how most of us are moving through subliminal messages. A lot of times we move through subliminal messages by just seeing, reading, moving and talking. We don’t know that these things dictate our movement. We really think we’re making our own moves throughout the day, talking to people, having conversations. But really everything that we see and hear is telling you what to think. For example, if you ask someone to spell ‘spot’ and then ask them to spell ‘stop,’ and then ask them, “What do you do when you get to a green light?,” they will say “Stop.” Why would you stop at a green light? I could do that in 100,000 ways, and it would rock your mind. I’m crazy with it, I develop tactics and techniques by studying all day the certain things that bring you to a common sense. I bring everything to common sense, and that’s why it’s called The Common Knowledgy. It is all just common sense. It is a sense we all have in common but all don’t commonly use it.

Buckshot’s first book, The Common Knowledgy Of The Entertainment Industry, is out now.